I am excited to finally see Nick Punto sporting the Birds on the Bat across his chest. The very definition of a super-utility guy, Punto is a weak bat-strong glove infielder who gets in base despite a low BA. He was a valuable member of many successful Minnesota Twins teams the past few years.
An off-season signing of the Cardinals, Punto arrived in Jupiter belly-aching with an aching belly. He was diagnosed and supposedly fixed with a surgeons blade. The sports hernia maybe the very reason Punto was deemed expendable by the Twins.
When the Redbirds signed him, I heard from many Twins fans - either on twitter or via email - that Cardinal Nation was gonna love this guy. Many in Minnesota thought that letting Punto escape was a bad move. He's a gritty-gutty gamer, who often was in the middle of good things - cut from the Jose Oquendo sparkplug mold.
Dirt on the uniform and thinking between the ears is Punto's hallmarks. And those qualities will always endear a Cardinals player to this life-long fan.
